11 historic places in America that were on the brink of destruction

A famous battlefield, iconic school buildings, one church, a canyon and even Lincoln’s cottage, all were threatened with destruction until the National Trust for Historic Preservation intervened. The funding provided help not only to save monuments but also an important part of the American history.

Even thou America is considered to be a young country, its monuments are already battling the passage of time and without intervention and support for conservation, some of the country’s iconic buildings could be lost to decay. This was the reason the National Trust for Historic Preservation started back in 1987 its Most Endangered Historic Places list, which shed light on the monuments that are under threat.

As 2017 marks the 30-year celebration of the list, the National Trust wanted to highlight some of the success stories behind its initiative by presenting 11 buildings that received the attention they needed in order to be preserved for posterity.

One such success story in Utah’s Nine Mile Canyon. The rock formations are lines with thousands of ancient petroglyphs, pictographs, rock shelters, granaries, and other cultural resources. They are the relics of the Ute people and Fremont culture from as many as 1,700 years ago—along with more recent historic sites from the famed 19th-century Buffalo Soldiers.

The canyon was listed by the National Trust in 2004, after it was shown that the pictographs and petroglyphs are threatened by the daily traffic in the area on non-paved roads. Luckily, the listing succeeded in raising awareness about this issues and an increase in visitor numbers. This allowed for the road that runs through the entire canyon to be paved.

A special building that made it to the list of 11 monuments that were saved thanks to the National Fund listing is Lincoln’s cottage. Located in Northwest Washington D.C, this cottage is the most significant historic site directly associated with Lincoln’s presidency aside from the White House. It was used as a summer residence, both by the Lincolns, which moved here three summers in the row as the country was facing war, but also by presidents Buchanan, Hayes, and Arthur.

The building has been considered a National Historic Landmark since 1973 but it fell into severe disrepair with seeping basement floors, rotting wood windows, and outdated electricity and plumbing. It was listed in 2000 and has become part of a 15 million restoration project led by the National Trust. In 2008, the newly renovated home was opened to the public.

Also linked to Lincoln, the historic battlefield at Antietam, often called the bloodiest day in American History, was under threat from a developer that wanted to open up a shopping mall in the vicinity.

The National Trust added Antietam to the first list in 1988. Since its addition to the list, Antietam raised much-needed funding for its preservation and is today considered one of the nation’s best-preserved Civil War battlefields.

Little Rock Central High School, once the largest school in the nation also needed extensive reparations. This institution offered the first test of Brown v. Board of Education when nine African-American students, also known as “The Little Rock Nine”, were denied entry to the school in defiance of the Supreme Court ruling.

But the building needed over six million dollars for repairs and it became part of the National Trust list back in 1996 and Congress established the school as a National Historic Site in November 1998 which prompted the much-needed renovation works.

Economic distress threatened Boston’s historic theatres with three iconic buildings,  the Paramount Theater, the Modern Theater, and the Boston Opera House, falling into neglect. The Boston Theater District made it to the list in 1995 and city authorities, together with non-profits and developers succeeded in restoring the buildings to their former glory and re-established them as art and entertainment venues.

Angel Island Immigration Station, sometimes called the “Ellis Island of the West,” was a point of entry to the U.S. for immigrants from 80 countries across the Pacific Rim between 1910 and 1940.

It was neglected and then closed down after World War II until a park ranger re-discovered that immigrants had carved and painted poetry into the station’s walls and floors during its years of operation. The listing helped the recover and preserve the poems and Californians decided that the state should invest in restoring the monument.

The list also features the Penn School, the first to be founded specifically for the education of African-Americans. It was established in 1862 and survived through the early 1950s but was forgotten and in need of repairs after much of the students here enlisted in World War II.

Just like in the case of previous buildings, the listing helped raise awareness and also the funds needed to repair and conserve the building. The former school has been transformed into a museum and President Obama included the Penn School as part of the Reconstruction Era National Monument in 2017.

The Statler Hilton Hotel is an icon for modernism at a very large scale. Its innovative architectural features made it a staple of mid-20th-century design featuring such luxuries as an elevator with music and roof-top swimming pool.

The building set vacant for some time before being threatened with demolition but after being listed, developers embarked on a $175 million renovation project to restore Statler to its former glory.

Saint Vibiana Cathedral, opened in 1876 but was scheduled for demolition in 1995 by the owners, the Roman-Catholic church. The National Trust listed the building and saved it from destruction. The church now serves as an event venue and it is also the home of the critically acclaimed Redbird restaurant.

Governors Island was once the national’s oldest continuously used military post but it was set to be closed. The then mayor, together with the governor of New York succeeded in saving the monument that played a pivotal role in the Revolutionary War. Since restoration, the northern half of the landmark is open for public use.

Last but not least, located at a historic and contemporary crossroads, Travelers’ Rest State Park and National Historic Landmark is a place where visitors can actually say that they are walking in the footsteps of Lewis and Clark. It is the only archaeologically verified campsite of the Lewis and Clark Expedition in the nation and it was also saved by being listed by the National Trust.